Nouns

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Definition of Noun

A noun is usually used as subject, object of the verb, or as object of the preposition. It names something such as persons, animals, things, places, time, measurement, actions, quality and idea.

Examples of Nouns

Type of Noun

Example

Person

Andrew, Paul, priest, doctor

Animal

monkey, dog, cat, raccoon

Thing

pen, comb, kettle, mug

Place

New Jersey, California, Makati

Time

Monday, day, week, month

Actions

running, eating, encoding

Quality

honesty, industry, beauty

Concrete and Abstract Nouns

Nouns are also classified as concrete or abstract. Concrete nouns are the things that can be touched or felt. On the other hand, abstract nouns are the things that cannot be touched. These are ideas or actions.

Example of Concrete and Abstract Nouns

Concrete Noun

Abstract Noun

brother

day

Sabrina

beauty

police

integrity

cellular phone

year

Common and Proper Nouns

Nouns can also be grouped as common or proper. A common noun refers to a class or general name of people, places, or things while a proper noun refers to a particular person, place, or thing.

Examples of Common and Proper Noun

Common Noun

Proper Noun

author

Sandra Miller

continent

Asia

city

Tokyo

mall

Walmart

park

Luneta Park

Remember: When writing a proper noun, always capitalize the first letter of the noun.

Singular and Plural Noun

Singular noun refers to one person, place, or thing while plural noun refers to more than one person, place, or thing. In most cases, letter “s” is added to change the singular noun to its plural form.

Examples of Singular and Plural Nouns

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

apple

apples

bag

bags

cat

cats

egg

eggs

refugee

refugees

skunk

skunk

tablet

tablets

zebra

zebras

Check the sentence examples below.

Singular Noun (Person):

●The doctor is early today.

Plural Noun (Person):

●The doctors are early today.

Singular Noun (place):

● The province is composed of municipalities.

Plural Noun (Place):

●The provinces are composed of municipalities.

Singular Noun (thing):

●Stone is an example of nonliving thing.

Plural Noun (thing):

●Stones are examples of nonliving things.

Adding letter s to form the plural of a noun is not always applicable and correct. | Source

Nouns ending in -sh, -ch,-x, and -z

Some nouns ending in s, sh, ch, x or z form the plural by adding es.

Example of Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x or -z

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

class

classes

truss

trusses

dish

dishes

brush

brushes

match

matches

watch

watches

box

boxes

tax

taxes

frizz

frizzes

buzz

buzzes

Nouns ending in -o

Nouns ending in an o that is preceded by a vowel form the plural by adding s. While, nouns ending in an o that is preceded by a consonant form the plural by adding s while others add es.

Example of Nouns ending in an -o

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

radio

radios

bamboo

bamboos

scenario

scenarios

embryo

embryos

kangaroo

kangaroos

cameo

cameos

tomato

tomatoes

Nouns ending in -y

Nouns ending in y and preceded by a consonant form the plural by changing y to i and add es. While, nouns ending in y following a vowel form the plural by adding s.

Example of Nouns ending in -y

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

bureaucracy

bureaucracies

body

bodies

policy

policies

medley

medleys

key

keys

Nouns with changing vowel or consonant

Some nouns form the plural by changing the vowel or the consonant.

Example of Nouns with changing vowel or consonant

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

man

men

woman

women

louse

lice

tooth

teeth

mouse

mice

Constant Nouns

Some nouns are constant. The singular and plural forms are the same.

Example of Constant Nouns

Singular Nouns

Plural Nouns

deer

deer

salmon

salmon

swine

swine

trout

trout

hovercraft

hovercraft

Nouns added with -n or -en

There are nouns that can be changed to plural by adding n or en.

Example of Nouns added with -n or -en

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

child

children

brother

brethren

ox

oxen

Nouns ending in -a

Nouns ending in a are changed to plural by adding e or s.

Example of Nouns ending in -a

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

alumna

alumnae

formula

formulae

Nouns ending in -ex or -ix

Nouns ending in ex or ix are changed to ices or simply add es.

Example of Nouns ending in -ex or -ix

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

index

indices, indexes

matrix

matrices

vertex

vertices

Nouns ending in -is

Nouns that end in is are changed to es to make the plural form.

Example of Nouns ending in -is

axis

axes

crisis

crises

thesis

theses

hypothesis

hypotheses

testis

testes

Compound Nouns

Nouns that are composed of two or more words are called compound nouns. The first noun or both nouns are changed to become plural in form.

Example of Compound Nouns

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

Governor-general

governors-general

man-child

men-children

father-in-law

fathers-in-law

passerby

passersby

Nouns added with an Apostrophe and -s

Some nouns are changed to plural by adding an apostrophe (‘) and s. These nouns are usually numbers, letters, and symbols.

Example of Nouns added with an (') and -s

Singular Noun

Plural Noun

1

1's

A

A's

$

$'s

Here are some examples of nouns added with an apostrophe and s.

Singular:

I see a $ on my page.

Shaun has A in his grading card.

Plural:

I see S’s on my page.

Shaun has A’s in his grading card.

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